Structure and Size of Malaria Mosquito

by

QUESTION

What is the structure and size of the mosquito?

ANSWER

The mosquitoes that transmit human malaria belong to the genus Anopheles. As such, they follow the general body plan structure of a flying insect—three segments (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. Anopheles females have modified mouthparts that allow them to feed on blood, by inserting a specialized proboscis into the skin; male Anopheles feed on nectar and so do not possess the same type of mouthparts.

The size of the adult mosquito varies on factors such as the exact species, the larval environment and food availability, but the length of the body is rarely greater than 16mm and the total weight is usually less than 2.5 milligrams.

Characteristics of Adult Mosquitoes

by

QUESTION:

What are the characteristics of adult anophelines and culicines?

ANSWER:

I am assuming your question relates to how adult anopheline and culicine mosquitoes can be differentiated from each other. There are a number of main characters that can be used for identification to genus level, namely in the resting position of the body (and the resultant angle of the proboscis to the ground), the pattern and colour of the wing veins and the relative length of the palps (these are sensory organs located on either side of the proboscis).

Specifically, adult anophelines tend to rest with their bodies at an angle to the ground (head down, body up), whereas culicines tend to rest roughly parallel to the ground. The colouration of the wing veins of anophelines is usually arranged in “blocks” of pale and dark scales, whereas culicines tend to have all-dark scales, or a scattered mixture of pale and dark scales. Finally, if you compare the adult females (all female mosquitoes have non-plumed antennae which contrast very obviously with the males’ plumed antennae, allowing the sexes to be easily differentiated), the palps of the female anophelines are almost as long as the proboscis, whereas they are relatively much shorter in culicines. Both sets of males have palps almost as long as the proboscis, but the tips are swollen in male anophelines whereas male culicines are not, but may have some distal hairs.